77 BELL RINGING
In our ‘We Tried That’ feature we send our reporter Steph Woolvin to try local sporty, adventurous and unusual experiences that are on our doorstep. This month she climbed up the wooden stairs to the tower at St Saviours Church and turned her hand to bell ringing…
night. The Dartmouth Bell Ringers gather at the foot of the ropes high above the pews at St Saviours Church at 7.30pm. “It is a bit of a work out,” admits tower captain Tim Chapman. He has stuck with the hobby for 40 years and has been tower captain for 21. Concerned I may slow proceedings down I arrive early before every- one else to have a quick run through. “So it’s right hand above left, just pull down on the Sally (the soft padded material near the end of the rope) and let me take the strain,” Tim says in a confident tone. ‘Even with Tim’s help a ‘workout’ turns out to be something of an understatement. I’m surprised how much effort it takes to get these bells going and I’m on the treble – the lightest one. Just as I’m wondering if I need to incorporate some kind of arm exercises into my daily routine Tim re- assures me saying the treble bell does weigh the same as a motorbike! The tenor on the other side of the room is a ton in weight - about the size of a small family car so I don’t envy the person
T
who takes that rope! But after a few pulls I soon learn that it is all about technique. I begin to get a satisfying feel for the hefty weight at the end of the rope and to understand what motivates thou- sands of people across Britain to ring church bells every year. Quick run
through over, the rest of the team start arriving and
here’s a happy group of men and women who create the rich and melodious sound which echoes around Dartmouth every Wednesday
“So it’s right hand above left, just pull down on the Sally”
Tim allocates each one a bell. There’s talk of “have the ropes gone up again or have I shrunk?!” – apparently a regular dig at Tim’s insistence on sticking with natural rope: “Some churches have moved to syn- thetic as natural can be hard to maintain and it does stretch and move according to the conditions and the weather but we will stick with the traditional material as long as I’m in charge!” There are eight bells here at St Saviours. I ask if it is a myth that bell ringers who hang on to the rope at the wrong moment can be
hoisted high into the air, as seen on sitcoms! Tim smiles and admits he was caught out on one occasion. Appar- ently he got his thumb wedged and was left dangling six foot above the floor! It’s on hearing that story I decide to sit the next one out! The next peel is “Queens” - the one most of us
recognise. “Treble’s going, she’s gone,” comes the call from Ruth on bell number one as she starts and the others follow suit. I always enjoy the sound of church bells when I’m around the town so to be this close to the action is superb. You can tell this team, made up of men and women from their 20s to their mid 60s, have had months, if not years, of practise as they pull the bells one after the other in a tumbling wave. Tim, who works with young adults with learning difficulties, is like a conductor calling out various instructions during the ringing; “look up…three to one…two to three”. This continues for four or five minutes until he calls “upwards” which is the cue to stop. Everyone sits down
We tried that...
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